2011-12

Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[6] For more information pertaining to Kind's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[7]

National security

NDAA

Kind voted for HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[8]

DHS Appropriations

Kind voted against HR 2217 - the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 that was largely along party lines.[9]

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Kind voted for House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.[10]

CISPA (2013)

Kind voted for HR 624 - the CISPA (2013). The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities. The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.[11]

Economy

Farm bill

On January 29, 2014, the U.S. House approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, H.R. 2642, known as the Farm Bill.[12] The bill passed by a vote of 251-166. The nearly 1,000-page bill provides for the reform and continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through 2018. The $1 trillion bill expanded crop insurance for farmers by $7 billion over the next decade and created new subsidies for rice and peanut growers that would kick in when prices drop.[13][14] However, cuts to the food stamp program cut an average of $90 per month for 1.7 million people in 15 states.[14] Kind voted with 102 other Democraticrepresentatives against the bill.

2014 Budget

On January 15, 2014, the Republican-run House approved H.R. 3547, a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 30, 2014.[15][16] The House voted 359-67 for the 1,582 page bill, with 64 Republicans and three Democrats voting against the bill.[16] The omnibus package included 12 annual spending bills to fund federal operations.[17] It included a 1 percent increase in the paychecks of federal workers and military personnel, a $1 billion increase in Head Start funding for early childhood education, reduced funding to the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, and the protection of the Affordable Care Act from any drastic cuts. Kind joined with the majority of the Democratic party and voted in favor of the bill.[15][16]

Government shutdown

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[18] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[19] Kind voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[20]

The shutdown finally ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[21] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Kind voted for HR 2775.[22]

Kind wrote on his Facebook page on October 1, 2013, that "As long as furloughed federal workers go without pay, I will not take my own salary."[23]

Medical device tax
A bipartisan House measure to repeal the 2.3% medical device excise tax that helps fund the healthcare reform law has been rumored as compromise to end the shutdown.[24][25]

Sponsored by Charlie Dent (R-PA) and Kind, the proposal reportedly would fund the government at the sequester cut levels for six months, repeal the device tax and offset the nearly $30 billion revenue loss over 10 years by changing employer pension rules.[25]

Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate say they oppose the measure because they are not willing to negotiate reform law provisions as part of the current spending fight and because it would extend the sequester cuts for six months rather than the shorter period they seek.[25][24]

A spokesperson for Kind said the Democrats are not committed to a device tax repeal though it is not off the table. “There are a lot of proposals, the medical device issue being just one of them. It's a fluid situation. Going forward, I hope that there's a lot more to discuss, a lot more ideas, a lot more thoughts.”[24][25]

Farm Bill

Kind voted against the Farm Bill on July 11, 2013. The bill passed in a 216-208 vote.[26] The bill passed included farm policy, but did not include food stamps.[27]

Immigration

Morton Memos Prohibition

Kind voted against House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States.[28] The vote largely followed party lines.[29]

Healthcare

Healthcare Reform Rules

Kind voted against House Amendment 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment was adopted by the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 227-185. The amendment requires that all changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be approved by Congress before taking effect. The vote was largely along party lines.[30]

Social issues

Abortion

Kind voted against HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196 that largely followed party lines. The purpose of the bill is to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.[31]

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Kind voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[32]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Ron Kind, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Ron Kind won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Dan Kapanke (R) and Michael Krsiean (Independent Citizen for Constitutional Government) in the general election.[35]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 3 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Kindincumbent

50.3%

126,380

Republican

Dan Kapanke

46.5%

116,838

Independent Citizen for Constitutional Government

Michael Krsiean

3.2%

8,001

Scattering

Scattering

0%

121

Total Votes

251,340

2008

On November 4, 2008, Ron Kind won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Paul Stark (R) and Kevin Barrett (L) in the general election.[36]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 3 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Kindincumbent

63.2%

225,208

Republican

Paul Stark

34.4%

122,760

Libertarian

Kevin Barrett

2.3%

8,236

N/A

Scattering

0.1%

196

Total Votes

356,400

2006

On November 7, 2006, Ron Kind won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Paul R. Nelson (R) in the general election.[37]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 3 General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Kindincumbent

64.8%

163,322

Republican

Paul R. Nelson

35.1%

88,523

N/A

Scattering

0.1%

242

Total Votes

252,087

2004

On November 2, 2004, Ron Kind won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Dale W. Schultz (R) in the general election.[38]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 3 General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Kindincumbent

56.4%

204,856

Republican

Dale W. Schultz

43.5%

157,866

N/A

Scattering

0.1%

286

Total Votes

363,008

2002

On November 5, 2002, Ron Kind won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Bill Arndt (R) and Jeff Zastrow (L) in the general election.[39]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 3 General Election, 2002

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Kindincumbent

62.8%

131,038

Republican

Bill Arndt

33.5%

69,955

Libertarian

Jeff Zastrow

3.2%

6,674

N/A

Scattering

0.4%

914

Total Votes

208,581

2000

On November 7, 2000, Ron Kind won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Susan Tully (R) in the general election.[40]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 3 General Election, 2000

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Kindincumbent

63.7%

173,505

Republican

Susan Tully

35.9%

97,741

N/A

Scattering

0.4%

966

Total Votes

272,212

1998

On November 3, 1998, Ron Kind won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Troy A. Brechler (R) in the general election.[41]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 3 General Election, 1998

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Kindincumbent

71.5%

128,256

Republican

Troy A. Brechler

28.4%

51,001

N/A

Scattering

0.1%

191

Total Votes

179,448

1996

On November 5, 1996, Ron Kind won election to the United States House. He defeated James E. Harsdorf (R) in the general election.[42]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 3 General Election, 1996

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Ron Kind

52%

121,967

Republican

James E. Harsdorf

47.8%

112,146

N/A

Scattering

0.2%

537

Total Votes

234,650

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Kind is available dating back to 2010. Based on available campaign finance records, Kind raised a total of $8,480,900 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 5, 2013.[43]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Kind missed 261 of 11,065 roll call votes from January 1997 to April 2013. This amounts to 2.4%, which is worse than the median of 2.1% among current congressional representatives as of April 2013.[56]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Kind paid his congressional staff a total of $919,663 in 2011. Overall, Wisconsin ranks 32nd in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[57]

Net worth

2012

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Kind's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $213,009 to $595,000. That averages to $404,004.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic House members in 2012 of $5,700,168.36. Kind ranked as the 293rd most wealthy representative in 2012.[58]

Ron Kind Yearly Net Worth

Year

Average Net Worth

2012

$404,004.50

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Kind was 1 of 2 members who ranked 138th in the liberal rankings in 2012.[59]